L'ordinamento comunitario dalla nascita al trattato di Maastricht

The article reminds of the institutional history of the European Communities from their birth to the Maastricht Treaty, in light of the theoretical debate between federalism, functionalism and the intergovernmental approach. A significant part of the essay is dedicated to the analysis of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, whose work of constitutionalisation of the EU legal system is undoubted. Along the line of the US doctrine, the author emphasizes the numerous federalist elements of the European construction.